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U.S. Open 2016: Andrew Landry's collapse that nearly never happened

Updated on June 20, 2016 at 7:29 AMPosted on June 19, 2016 at 11:11 PM

U.S. Open 2016, Andrew Landry

Andrew Landry, who lost his chance at the 2016 U.S. Open on the front nine Sunday, watches his tee shot on the 10th hole during third round of the U.S. Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club on Saturday, June 18, 2016, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
(Charlie Riedel)

OAKMONT -- Before Andrew Landry tapped his club to the left, behind, left and right of his first tee shot in Sunday's final round, he stood among gallery ropes, the tree he'd just cut his tee shot off of and that ball.

There wasn't a rules official around. Landry was certain the one he'd drop would be all that mattered on his final scorecard, but he decided to play two balls.

Landry hit the first off the drop, with a 3-wood, decently. He had to. Three of the five spots advancing players from the Durham, N.C. local U.S. Open qualifier were accounted for.

He put much less into the second ball, hacking it out with a 6-iron and wedging to 40 foot par putt he thought was irrelevant.

"I literally just got up and just like, hit it," Landry said, slapping his hand against his thigh, "because I didn't even think it was going to be --

"I just knew it was ground under repair. So I just got up and hit it."

He holed out for a 3-under 69, tied into the top five. The dropped ball bogeyed, but didn't count.

This, on May 9 at the 18th hole of Duke University Golf Club, is how the first player to tee off in the final pairing of the 2016 U.S. Open qualified for the tournament that qualified him into the tournament field, his major debut.

After hitting the best opening round in Oakmont U.S. Open history, 66, Landry couldn't help but think back to his careless success in Durham. It was funny to him at the time and remained as much Sunday night -- even after he plummeted from Shane Lowry's closest challenge for the championship, to a tagalong for the Irishman's loss to Dustin Johnson.

"None of this would have happened if that didn't go on," Landry said.

He began the week trying to help himself keep his PGA Tour card. He'd been doing a terrible job of it this season. Landry was ranked 624nd in the world before the U.S. Open, 203rd in FedEx Cup points and 104th on the Web.com Tour, nowhere near retaining his tour card through any of them.

As Landry walked down the first two fairways, spectators kept calling him "kid." "That's the kid." "C'mon kid." "Let's go, kid."

Landry said he does not feel like a kid.

He's 28, quit Q-school four or five years ago and nearly gave up professional golf altogether numerous times since.

His parents took up side jobs cutting grass for him to kickstart his professional career. He played winter series tournaments, getting five-figure checks for top-five finishes.

Landry had won $90,305 this season. He'll get $152,234 from tying for 15th this weekend.

Adrenaline hit Landry early in his final round, he said, he thinks, but didn't feel it. The debutant hit the pin on the second green, before bogeying his second straight hole.

All week, Landry had hung around the leaderboard with blend of consistent driving and risk-taking in spots. At times, he outdrove players like Johnson, who towered over him, or Lowry, twice as wide as him.

Landry's wasn't a groundbreaking formula, just one a player of his accomplishments and failures wasn't supposed to execute through 54 holes. On the 55th-63rd, he lost his tempo. He kept his club-tapping and -tracing routine, but what followed stayed off.

Before he came anywhere close to crossing back over I-76 to the ninth tee, Landry knew the championship he'd lost the championship he'd been so excited to chase, too.

"Of course," he said. "Six-over through six, it's not looking good for you."

Claps for his drives, chips and putts became muted and conciliatory. On the ninth green scoreboard his name was misspelled, "Landrey." The plus-4 was accurate.

He was reduced to a U.S Open spectator again, albeit one who played just 1-over par on the back nine.

"This course will really make you look stupid if you don't drive it well," Landry said.

But he is the man who got himself to Oakmont by being dumb.

Before Lowry walked up to the 18th tee box, the Sunday leader pressed his lips together and looked down at his feet. He and Landry had heard the roar of Dustin Johnson parring No. 18 for a three-stroke lead.

The crowd lingering on the 17th green had a new player to console. When Landry led Lowry down the 18th fairway, he was past that point. His best chance at the biggest tournament of his life had been blown for hours.

The 28 year old turned to his caddie and said he wished he could take a picture of the final hole, final pairing gallery overflowing in front of him. When he sat down on a bench in the back right corner of the Oakmont Country Club locker room, he was happy just to take his shoes off.

"It's obviously one of the greatest moments of my life right now," Landry said. "But, you know, I deserve to be here."